


Shifting Shadows

by Pandora151



Series: The Journey of the Lights [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Obi-Wan Needs a Hug, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sequel, lineage feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-05-30 19:43:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15103655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandora151/pseuds/Pandora151
Summary: Six months ago, Anakin Skywalker brought balance to the Force.  Six months ago, the Sith were defeated.  Six months ago, everything changed.The Force, however, is nothing if not unpredictable.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the official multi-chapter sequel to Drifting Starlight. If you haven't read it, please go read that before reading this story! Trust me, you don't want to get spoiled for what happens in Drifting Starlight by reading this. It's part 2 of the "Journey of the Lights" series!
> 
> I'm super excited to be starting this, and I really hope you enjoy this story!

Returning home after so long felt like a cooling balm on her fractured nerves.  Asajj Ventress lived and breathed the air of Dathomir, but she only realized it upon returning to her home planet after the end of the war and the Sith Master’s death.

The Jedi were broken by Order 66, but they remained strong and _alive_.  Kenobi and Tano had both promised her change within the Order, but she knew that the change would take time.  Regardless, she knew she wouldn’t return to the Jedi or to the Sith.  She was…something else now, and she accepted that.

Mother Talzin welcomed her back with open arms, and the sheer sight of it was enough to bring tears to her eyes.  She had not returned to Dathomir since she was a child, since before she was taken by Hal’Sted to Rattatak.

Since her arrival, Ventress readjusted to life on Dathomir.  The Dark Side of the Force felt clear and _alive_ , and the feeling of it was unlike anything she ever experienced before.  She never felt such happiness before, such clarity.  Everything felt so _right_.

There was a part of her, small as it was, that doubted everything.  It doubted that this peace was going to last.  It doubted her place in Dathomir’s society.  The cynic inside of her questioned why all the Nightsisters allowed her to return, without really knowing or understanding what she has become.

Mother Talzin was awfully forgiving of Ventress’ own transgressions and was willing to help her right her wrongs.  Ventress was still waiting for the catch, for something to go completely wrong.

About six months after she returned to Dathomir, Ventress walked out of her dwelling in pursuit of Mother Talzin.  Something in the Force was _stirring_.  It was faint, but it was enough to make her feel uncomfortable and slightly twitchy.  After tossing and turning for most of the night, Ventress decided to seek out Mother Talzin for some answers.

The Mother’s door was closed, which was extremely unusual.  Even more surprising was the two distinct male voices that she could hear filtering through the door, along with Mother Talzin’s.  Both males sounded like Nightbrothers, though she did not know exactly who they were.  She immediately cloaked herself within the depths of the Force and continued to listen.

Perhaps this was her answer.

* * *

“It’s like—” Ahsoka cut herself off, struggling to come up with the words to describe what she has realized about Anakin and Obi-Wan.

“It’s like they act friendly to each other,” she began, and then leaned back in the chair.  “And it sometimes feels like how it did before.  Maybe they do it because they’re both used to it, and it’s just the easier thing to do?”

“Do you sense any animosity between them?” Nira asked, long fingers steepled together.  “Or did Master Kenobi say anything that might imply anything?”

Ahsoka shook her head.  “It just…it’s not the same as it was before,” she answered.  “It’s not really _wrong_ , but it just feels strange, I guess.”

The Rodian mind healer nodded.  “What Skywalker did was very wrong, though.  You said that yourself, multiple times,” she replied.

“I know I did,” Ahsoka sighed.  “I just sometimes wish things were the way they were before.”  She looked down at her lap, tense but focused.

“That makes sense,” Nira said.  “It’s natural, Ahsoka, for you to wish for these things.  A lot has changed for you, and you wish for the stability that was there in the past.  But you are doing the right thing by acknowledging these feelings and trying to work through them, instead of stuffing them somewhere far away in your mind.”

“Can I ask—Master Kenobi hasn’t talked about…you know?” Ahsoka asked.

Nira’s gaze lowered a little before she looked at Ahsoka again.  “Master Che insists on forcing him to come to our appointments, but I’d rather he come of his own volition.  Otherwise it would not be helpful for him,” she explained.  “He only came once, before you both left for Ilum.”

Ahsoka resisted the urge to sigh and instead leaned back in her chair again.  So Obi-Wan was skipping mind healer appointments.  Again.  Why should she even expect otherwise?

It was beginning to bother her that he hadn’t spoken to anyone about what happened in Palpatine’s office or about Anakin, even.  Whenever she brought it up with him, he would either quickly change the topic or just not say anything at all.  She asked Master Qui-Gon a few times, but he was having the same amount of success that she was.

“I see,” Ahsoka answered.  “I’ll try to ask him to schedule an appointment.”

“You don’t need to do that, Padawan,” Nira said with a faint smile.  “Give him time.  Time heals all wounds, even those as deep as Master Kenobi’s.”

Ahsoka stood.  “Thank you, Nira,” she said.  “May the Force be with you.”

The healer nodded.  “And you, Ahsoka.”

* * *

Within the depths of the Force, Qui-Gon Jinn meditated.  Time passed much differently here than it did in corporeality, but the environment of the Force was heavily influenced by the universe itself.

Qui-Gon spent a lot of time by himself, watching over Obi-Wan and Anakin and Ahsoka, and the galaxy as a whole.  Manifesting himself as a ghost to visit them took a lot more effort than he wished, but he found it easier to speak to anyone who was willing to listen.  Just being able to help them overcome their struggles is a blessing in itself.

He took a deep breath, preparing himself to float in the Force for some time.  Before he could do just that, there were footsteps behind him.  Qui-Gon uncrossed his legs and pulled himself to his feet before turning around.

 _“Everything will change,”_ the Son said, without greeting, without explanation.

“Change how?” Qui-Gon asked, feeling a sort of nervousness stirring within him.

The Son paused and then smirked at him.  _“My father and sister may deem this as balance,”_ he continued, motioning around them, _“but this is not true balance.  True balance must have equal parts Light and Dark,”_ the Son said.

The three Force beings—The Father, Son, and Daughter—all had a habit of not directly answering questions whenever Qui-Gon would ask them.  He hoped that by now he would be able to communicate with them more easily, but it felt as though these beings didn’t care much for answering his questions.  They were more focused on the Force itself.

“What is happening?” Qui-Gon asked.

 _“Let’s just say that the darkness must rise again,”_ the Son answered.  Before Qui-Gon could say anything else, the Son transformed into some sort of a winged beast and flew off into the distance.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan and Anakin talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on updating this next week, but since I have no self-control, here's chapter 1!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

_“Ahsoka, where are you?”_ Obi-Wan asked as soon as she picked up her commlink.  She couldn’t exactly hear the irritation in his voice, but she could easily sense it through their bond.

Ahsoka smiled and then spoke.  “Sorry, Master, I don’t think I can make it to Anakin’s.  Barriss and I have this _huge_ project due tomorrow for Galactic History,” she answered, trying not to laugh.  It was a lot easier to lie to Anakin than to Obi-Wan, but it was still definitely possible.  Somewhat.

Obi-Wan didn’t reply, though Ahsoka could hear the static through his commlink.

_“Why do I feel like there’s a catch, Ahsoka?”_ he asked.

Ahsoka shook her head, though she knew he couldn’t see her.  “No catch, Master.  You can ask Master Piell about it.  It’s about Tython and the beginnings of the Je’daii Order,” she answered innocently.

Obi-Wan sighed.  _“Oh, alright,”_ he said after another pause.  _“There should be some dinner in the cooling unit.  I’ll see you later.”_

“Tell Anakin I said hi!” she replied before clicking off her commlink.

Ahsoka sat down on the couch of the apartment.  Being alone in the apartment used to be a rarity when she was Anakin’s Padawan, but now…it was just her and Obi-Wan.

She didn’t exactly mind, but when Master Qui-Gon was actually here, the apartment felt so lively and full, and now it was empty.

She shook her head.

“Right, I guess I’ll get started on that project,” she said, then laughed lightly.  She reached for the remote and turned on the holo.

* * *

Obi-Wan was nervous, as much as he didn’t want to admit it.  Ahsoka wasn’t coming, even though she was the one who suggested this dinner with Anakin and Padmé in the first place.  He was fairly sure that this was some sort of elaborate set-up on her part, and part of him wanted to get back in his speeder and drive back to the Temple.  It would be so easy to do that.

He and Ahsoka met with Anakin and Padmé a few times over the past few months, usually for lunch or dinner.  Ahsoka was always there to diffuse any tension, though Padmé missed a few of the meetings because of Senate work or morning sickness.

But now that Ahsoka wasn’t coming, he didn’t know what to expect.

Obi-Wan reached the front door of Anakin and Padmé’s apartment and paused.  It wasn’t too late; he could still turn around and leave.  He could tell them that the Council called him back for something.

No.

Qui-Gon wouldn’t want him to do that.  Obi-Wan knew things were different; he knew that Qui-Gon was watching him, hoping that he would adjust better to everything that happened.

Obi-Wan knocked on the door quickly, and moments later, it swung open to reveal Anakin.

“Obi-Wan!” Anakin greeted with a smile.  “Where’s Ahsoka?” he asked, looking around for his former apprentice.

“She couldn’t make it,” Obi-Wan replied.  “She has a big project due tomorrow, apparently.”

“Oh.”  Anakin deflated slightly, still leaning against the door.  Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, slightly amused.

“May I come in?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Oh!” Anakin exclaimed, then moved out of the way to let Obi-Wan in.  “Sorry about that,” he said as Obi-Wan walked in.

Obi-Wan nodded, then looked around the foyer.  “Is Padmé not here?” he asked, voice colored with surprise.  No Ahsoka _and_ no Padmé?  He hadn’t spoken to Anakin by himself for a very long time, not since…

“No, she’s stuck in some meetings at the Senate,” Anakin answered, looking exactly as uncomfortable as Obi-Wan felt.

“Right,” Obi-Wan said.  He shouldn’t have come.  This was a bad idea, and he knew it from the very start.  He distantly wondered if he could come up with some sort of excuse and leave now.

“It shouldn’t take her that long, though,” Anakin said.  “Come on; we can wait in the living room.”

Obi-Wan followed quietly, though the Force was already stirring slightly in warning.

* * *

Anakin desperately wished that Padmé was home.  She was _supposed_ to be here, to serve as a sort of buffer, to prevent the awkwardness from becoming too obvious.  The dinner itself was Ahsoka’s idea, but Padmé was the one who actually invited Obi-Wan and Ahsoka over.  Ironically, neither Ahsoka nor Padmé were here.

“So,” Anakin began, putting his commlink on the table next to him after sending another panicked message to his wife.  “Do you want anything to drink?  We have some tea, I think.  And Padmé has a really nice collection of wines, or I can ask Threepio to make something if you want.  Or I think I can—”

“Anakin.”  The sound, the _tone_ of it made the message clear enough, though Obi-Wan didn’t need to say any more.  Anakin needed to calm down.  He breathed out slowly and reached into the Force for comfort.

Obi-Wan smiled slightly.  “Water would be fine, Anakin,” he answered, and Anakin nodded and escaped into the kitchen.

A few moments later, he returned with two glasses of water and handed one of them to Obi-Wan.  Obi-Wan nodded his thanks and took a long sip before putting the glass on the table next to him.

“So,” Anakin said again, desperately trying to come up with something to say so that they didn’t have to talk about the _thing_.  “How’s Ahsoka doing?” he asked.

“Good,” Obi-Wan answered.  “She’s made a lot of progress with her jar’kai.  She wants to try sparring with you at some point.  I’m sure she would have asked today if she was able to make it.”

“That’s great!” Anakin enthused.  “She must be so excited.  I’ll send her a message later tonight about sparring,” he decided, leaning forward eagerly.

“She does miss you, you know,” Obi-Wan responded before taking another sip of water.

They both lapsed into silence, and Anakin’s nerves flared up again.  What was taking Padmé so long?  Anakin tangled his fingers in his lap, resisting the urge to pick at the fingers of his mech hand.

“How are you doing?” he asked finally.  He heard bits and pieces of information from Ahsoka whenever she commed, but he didn’t completely understand everything that she said.

“Better,” Obi-Wan answered after a stretch of silence.  “It’s…I don’t think I’ll ever be the way I was before.  I’m not…” He trailed off then breathed out a shaky laugh.  “It’s difficult to explain, but it’s going to take time.”

Anakin nodded, ignoring the twisting feeling in his stomach.  He took a gulp of water and tried to come up with something else to say.  His mind refused to cooperate, and the only thing he could think of was what he didn’t want to talk about.  He wasn’t ready for that conversation.

“Has Master Qui-Gon come to see you?” Obi-Wan asked finally.  He took another sip of water.

“Just once, a few weeks ago,” Anakin said.  He knew from Obi-Wan and Ahsoka that Master Qui-Gon was a Force Ghost now but seeing him with his own two eyes was a bigger shock than he expected.

Obi-Wan nodded then swallowed heavily.  “Anakin,” he began, almost hesitantly.  “Anakin, you know that if none of this happened, if Master Qui-Gon never _came_ here in the first place, you—” He cut himself off harshly and almost seemed to choke on his words.

Anakin’s stomach turned completely into knots.  No, this was _wrong_.

“Obi-Wan?” he asked tentatively.  Obi-Wan’s eyes were closed tightly, as though he was trying to regain some sort of control.

“You would have joined the Sith,” Obi-Wan said finally after opening his eyes again.

Cold shame curled deep in Anakin’s stomach, and he looked down at the floor.

“There’s no knowing that,” Anakin whispered, though he _knew_.  Palpatine had orchestrated everything from the beginning, and Anakin was walking directly into his trap.  Hell, Anakin _did_ walk right into his trap, even when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were there and watching.  He watched Palpatine hurt Qui-Gon and watched him _kill_ Obi-Wan.  Anakin just stood there and watched it all happen.

“Why not?” Obi-Wan asked, right eyebrow raised.  The gesture was so familiar, yet so frustrating.  “You had no problem joining him even when Qui-Gon was here.  You had no problem turning your back on all your years of Jedi training, seemingly on a _whim_ , without even talking to me or Ahsoka or Qui-Gon about it.  What else am I supposed to think, Anakin?”

“Why do you think all of that happened?” Anakin asked, quickly surging to his feet.  Something inside of him was burning, and it felt _good_.  “You left me alone, Obi-Wan!”

“ _Alone_?” Obi-Wan echoed, voice colored with disbelief.  “I was here, Anakin.  Ahsoka was here.  Master Qui-Gon, who was not even familiar with this time, was here.  He had faith in you, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, then exhaled slowly.  “We all did.”

Anakin shook his head.  “Don’t say that, Obi-Wan!” he exclaimed, feeling Obi-Wan reel in surprise in the Force.  The grim satisfaction that rushed through him felt warm in his stomach.  It felt _right_.  “You and Ahsoka and Master Qui-Gon were off doing your own thing without me.  You left me alone, and everything was falling apart!  What else was I supposed to do?”

Obi-Wan was now on his feet, eyes wide.  “Besides confiding everything to a Sith Lord?” he asked, then shook his head immediately.  “No, the Sith Master himself?”

“He was _there_ for me!” Anakin shouted.  “He was there for me from the day I first arrived on Coruscant, from the very day Master Qui-Gon died and left me with you.”

Obi-Wan blinked as the all the color in his face drained out.  “I see,” he murmured, then closed his eyes.  He was trembling slightly, and there was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, though the room was pleasantly cool.  Anakin’s heart sank to his stomach, and he felt suddenly very cold.

“Obi-Wan—” Anakin started, suddenly unsure.

“Why did you leave his side, then?” Obi-Wan whispered.  “It looks like you were perfectly happy as his apprentice.”

“Because I made a _mistake_!” Anakin snapped.   His heart was beating furiously in his chest.  “He _killed_ you, Master.  I—” He swallowed, trying to come up with the words to explain what happened.  “I know it’s attachment, but I couldn’t just…”

“Why didn’t you realize it before, Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked softly.  He was shaking more visibly now, and his Force presence seemed to waver too, as though it was struggling to stay in balance.  “I can’t just…can’t—”

The door swung open, and a visibly pregnant Padmé walked in.  “I’m so sorry that I’m late,” she said.  “I got held up at a committee meeting, and then I—” She cut herself off as she looked up at the scene before her.  “What happened?”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.  “I’m sorry; this was a mistake.  I’ll leave now,” he murmured.  He opened his eyes and began to move forward, still trembling slightly.

“Wait, Obi-Wan,” Padmé said.  “I don’t know what—”

“My apologies, Senator,” Obi-Wan said.  He nodded at her and glanced at Anakin for a brief moment before turning around and walking out the door.  Anakin heard the front door close as Obi-Wan left the apartment.

“Padmé, I—”

She held up a hand, and Anakin deflated, though his stomach was completely tied into knots, and he felt as though he made yet another mistake.

“Anakin,” she sighed, then walked over to the couch where Obi-Wan was sitting and sat down heavily.  “Was that necessary?” she asked, rubbing at her eyes just slightly.

“It just happened, Padmé; I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” he said.

“I know it’s difficult, Ani,” she replied, then yawned.  “But you’ll need to talk to him about it, and you can’t allow yourself to get so…defensive about what you did.  You know what you did was wrong.”

Anakin closed his eyes, and just for a moment, he felt like he was back in that office, staring down at Obi-Wan’s dead body.

“I know,” he whispered.  “Sometimes I just…I know it was wrong, but sometimes it feels like that was the only thing I _could_ have done.  I know now, obviously, that there were other options, but I just…I was narrow-minded,” he said, then shook his head.  “Seems like I still am narrow-minded.”

She nodded slightly before standing.  “Let’s eat dinner, and then you can tell me how those renovations are going for the shop,” she proposed.

Anakin nodded, then followed his wife into the kitchen.

* * *

Heart racing in his chest, Obi-Wan sat down in the driver’s seat of his speeder.  His stomach was churning with nausea, and he felt more off-kilter than he had in _weeks_.  He struggled to take a few deep breaths and reached to the Force for comfort.

Obi-Wan leaned forward and rested his forehead against the cool glass of the speeder.

He shouldn’t have said anything.  Obi-Wan knew that he and Anakin were not ready to talk about what happened.  Their relationship felt strained from damage and abuse, and part of Obi-Wan wanted to fix it.  Another part of Obi-Wan, the more cynical part of him, knew that it would require him to forgive.

He wasn’t ready to do that, and he didn’t know when he would be ready.

It’s not that he wasn’t forgiving Anakin out of spite, but because of Anakin’s mistakes, Obi-Wan will not be the same.  Sure, he was healthier than before all of this happened, but there were still migraines, there was still exhaustion, and there was still this feeling of…illness.

Master Che explained it to him multiple times.  The Healers have never seen anyone return from the dead, and they don’t know what to expect.  There were just as many ups as there were downs, and it was difficult for him to predict what each day would bring.

Obi-Wan breathed out slowly and lifted his head.  It was time to go home.

About half an hour later, he opened the door to the apartment to see Ahsoka sitting on the couch, intently watching a holodrama.  He immediately realized that she had no project due tomorrow.

“Master!” she greeted, eyes wide with surprise and thinly veiled concern.  “You got back earlier than I expected.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.  “Yes, I suppose,” he replied, not really wanting to talk about…anything.  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Before Ahsoka could say anything else, he turned away and walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Obi-Wan sat down heavily on his bed and stared at the wall for a long moment before leaning down to take off his boots.

He felt completely exhausted, but sleep seemed to be too far away for him to reach.  He tossed and turned for what felt like hours.  At some point, he heard Ahsoka turn off the holo and go to her room.  He felt her Force presence drift off into sleep, but he still felt completely awake.

Obi-Wan waited another few more minutes before sitting up again.  Maybe if he meditated, he would be able to fall asleep more easily.  He settled into a cross-legged position and closed his eyes once again.

* * *

The door opened.

Nira looked up to see Master Kenobi walking into her office, looking a bit sheepish.

“So,” she began, widening her eyes _just_ slightly, “are you here to talk about your Padawan or yourself?”

Master Kenobi exhaled slowly, and Nira could see how stiffly he was holding himself.  His Force presence was tightly wrapped around himself and the shields surrounding him were stronger than durasteel.

“I…” He looked down, as though he was considering just turning around and leaving.  She wouldn’t put it past him.  Master Che told her that he’s done exactly that quite a few times, even in the past few weeks.

“Master Che is on leave,” he said.

Nira nodded.  “I know; she told me before she left,” she replied.  Officially, Master Che was on leave.  Unofficially, she went back to some of the medical stations that were used for the war to oversee the process of converting these stations to proper hospitals for more general use.

“If you have time, I just have a few questions,” he said after a long pause.  “I would ask Master Che, but she’s not here.”

Nira nodded.  “I have some time right now,” she said before standing up from her desk and walking towards one of the patient rooms.

“No, wait, I just wanted to ask if—”

“When are you going to stop lying to yourself?” Nira asked, turning around to face him.  “Do you realize how worried your Padawan is about you?  Do you realize how worried the _Council_ is about you?  Do you realize how worried Master _Che_ is worried about you?”  She took a deep breath.

“You have a choice, Obi-Wan,” she said more quietly.  “We can go back to…to playing this perverse _game_ you seem to enjoy.  You can continue avoiding this and wallowing about in your struggles.”

Obi-Wan stood still, jaw clenched.  He didn’t say a word.

“Or you can let me help you,” she finished.  “That is your choice.”

Obi-Wan’s Force presence seemed to fold into itself even more.  She didn’t know exactly what was happening, what made him finally decide to come here _now_ , six months late.  But it would be even more difficult to convince him to stay.

“If you do not want to make that choice,” she said after another long pause, “then I must ask you to leave.  I have other matters to attend to, Master Kenobi.”

“I…” Obi-Wan closed his eyes, and for a moment, Nira could feel the exhaustion and uncertainty filtering through him.  “Don’t make me say it, Master Jasee.  Please.”

She shook her head.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and breathed out.  Nira’s heart was racing in her chest.  She wondered if she went too far.

“I need your help,” he whispered, eyes shining.  “Please.”

Nira swallowed, forcing her own tears back.  Then she nodded slowly.

* * *

“So,” Nira said once they were settled in one of her patient rooms, “before I do anything, I’d like to know why you’re here.  Not what Master Che believes or what my thoughts are, but why _you_ decided to come here today.”

Obi-Wan didn’t reply for a few moments.  Nira wondered if he was just going to stand up and leave, but he remained seated.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” he said finally.  “After a few hours, I decided to meditate to help myself fall asleep.”  Obi-Wan frowned slightly, eyes somewhere far away.  “I had a vision, of sorts.  I don’t remember what it was, but I know it was terrible.”

Nira nodded, then looked down at her datapad.  “You’ve had visions all your life, correct?” she asked softly.

“Yes, but nothing like this, Master Jasee.  I always remember them,” he answered.  “And when I came to, I…”  He stopped, as though he didn’t really know what to say.

Then his shields loosened slightly, and he trembled as most of them came down, one by one.  Nira reached out and quickly examined his Force presence.

“You’re having a migraine,” she realized, then remembered exactly what that meant.  “You should be in the Halls, Master Kenobi.  I know that Master Che isn’t here, but they can help you.”

He shook his head gingerly.

“That vision, whatever it was, is important.  I need your help to find out what it is, among other things,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

“Something is coming, Master Jasee,” he whispered.  “And I…I need to be prepared.”

“If I agree to this, Master Kenobi, it will put your mind under a lot more strain than it is right now.  Yes, you’ve rebuilt your shields and everything that Palpatine destroyed, but I’m sure Master Che told you that your mind is fragile,” she explained.  “I can’t reverse any healing that you’ve had over the past six months.  I am a Healer, first and foremost.”

“I know,” Obi-Wan said.  “But there is something coming.  The Force is telling me that much.”

Nira sighed.  “Need I remind you what happened to your former Padawan because of his visions?”

Obi-Wan’s face immediately went blank and his Force presence closed off, now perfectly still.  The shields were completely _perfect_.  Not strong, but they had the outward appearance of tranquility, regardless of what truly lay within.

Nira shook her head.  “Don’t close yourself off,” she admonished.  “If you truly want me to help you, you must _let_ me.”

The shields loosened again, and for a brief moment, agony flooded her senses.  She breathed, letting the shock of the pain dissipate into the Force.

“What happened to Anakin was due to his attachment to the Senator, and because he didn’t ask any Jedi for help,” Obi-Wan said.  “I don’t intend on doing anything drastic.  I just want to be prepared.”

“Be prepared for what, Master Kenobi?” Nira asked softly.  “The Sith are _gone_.  Skywalker made sure of that.  The Force is balanced.  You have a new Padawan, you can speak to your Master even though he has passed into the Force.  You are still recovering; you don’t _need_ to put yourself under this much stress unnecessarily.”

Obi-Wan stared at her for a long moment.  “Am I overreacting?” he asked quietly.

“There’s no way of knowing for sure right now,” she said.

He chuckled dryly.  “When I was a Padawan, Qui-Gon always told me to focus on the here and now,” he explained, “even now it seems I haven’t completely learned that lesson.”

She shook her head.  “It’s not an easy thing to do, Obi-Wan,” she responded.

“I know.”

* * *

“What exactly happened last night?  Obi-Wan won’t talk about it,” Ahsoka asked.

She heard Anakin sigh through her commlink.

_“We tried to talk about what happened, but things just sort of escalated,”_ Anakin answered.   _“I’ll try to call Obi-Wan later today; I can’t just leave things like how they were.”_

Ahsoka nodded, even though she knew he couldn’t see her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come,” she said.  “I didn’t actually have an assignment due; I was just hoping that…”

_“I know.”_ There was sympathy and understanding in his voice, and she found herself appreciating it.

She paused and sat down on the couch, distantly wondering where Obi-Wan was.  They were supposed to spar once she came back from her classes, but she returned to an empty apartment.  Ahsoka figured that since she had some time, she could call Anakin.

“How’s the shop?” she asked.

_“Good.  It isn’t too busy, but it’s definitely made a mark in the Coruscanti marketplace,”_ he said.  _“I’ve even got regular customers!  Which is sorta weird, but I’m getting used to it.”_ He sounded more excited now.

“I should come by sometime.”

_“That sounds great!”_ Anakin enthused.  _“Oh, and Obi-Wan was saying that you’ve made a lot of progress with your jar’kai.  We should spar sometime.”_

“We should!” Ahsoka exclaimed.  She hadn’t sparred with Anakin in months, and she had no idea how she would do against him now.

The comm unit for the apartment beeped two times, indicating that there was a message in the inbox.

Ahsoka stood up and walked over to the unit to read the message.  She read the message once, then a second time, before closing her eyes to seek reassurance from the Force.

_“Snips?”_

Oh, right.  She almost forgot that she was talking with Anakin.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta go, Anakin.  I’ll talk to you later?” she asked.

_“Sure thing, Snips.  It was great talking to you.”_

“You too,” she replied.  She heard him click off, and she lowered her commlink and put it back on her belt.

* * *

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Ahsoka asked, frustrated.

They were walking slowly back to the apartment.  Obi-Wan was able to convince Bant to let him go back to the apartment to sleep off his migraine, and Ahsoka told her that she would contact her if anything went wrong.

“It just started this morning,” Obi-Wan replied.  Besides a slight pallor in his face, he looked perfectly normal, if a little exhausted.  She wouldn’t have realized anything was happening months ago, but she’s learned a lot since becoming Obi-Wan’s Padawan.

“I thought you wouldn’t be getting them anymore.”

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan said, and he stopped walking.  Ahsoka stopped, too, waiting for him to continue.  “I had migraines before Master Qui-Gon died.  They will not go away just because there is not as much damage in my mind as there was before,” he explained.

“You’re sure it’s nothing?” she asked.  “Master, I can’t…”

“Honestly, I’m not sure, but the Healers ran all these tests to make sure,” he said.  “Medically speaking, it’s a migraine.  And it’s not even as bad as the ones from…before.”

Ahsoka nodded, and they both started walking again.  “Just…tell me if you need something, Master.  Don’t close me off,” she pleaded.

“I promised you that I’ll be honest, Ahsoka,” he replied.  “I won’t break that promise.”

She nodded.  “Thank you, Master,” she said with a smile.

* * *

Ventress watched as the ship flew away, frowning.  She didn’t know exactly where the two Nightbrothers went and why, but she knew she _had_ to find out.  The Force was telling her that much.

Something was coming, and she had no idea what it would do to her or to her family on Dathomir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided that I'll just say to expect the next chapter in the next 1-2 weeks or something. So let's just go with that.
> 
> Please let me know what you think, it really means a lot! :)


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued support! I'm really sorry this is late; real life has gotten the best of me yet again :/
> 
> Enjoy! :)

“My child.”

Ventress turned around to see Mother Talzin watching her curiously.  “Yes, Mother?” she asked, keeping her voice level.

“You crave for excitement, my dear Asajj,” the Mother said, eyes sparkling.  “I know you wonder what those Nightbrothers are doing.  You must not worry about the things that are well out of your control.”

“Yes, Mother,” Asajj repeated, bowing her head just slightly.  She wanted to protest, but she knew that if she spoke up now, then she would never learn about Mother Talzin’s true intentions.  She had to be patient.

“Don’t worry, my dear,” Mother Talzin purred, turning around to walk away.  “This is all for Dathomir.”

* * *

“Master Windu,” Obi-Wan greeted, surprised to see the Korun Master standing at his door.  “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, opening the door a bit wider to allow Master Windu in.

“We need to talk,” Mace replied.

Obi-Wan nodded.  “Have a seat, then,” he said, “Do you want tea?  I was about to make some for myself.”

Mace shook his head as he sat down.  “Did Master Che clear you for missions before she left?” he asked, apparently not in the mood for small talk.  His eyebrows were creased closer together than usual, and Obi-Wan felt a sense of worry from his Force presence.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said slowly.  “What’s happening, Master Windu?” he asked.

Mace paused and looked up at the ceiling for a moment, deep in thought.

“Master Windu?” Obi-Wan repeated, frowning.

“There are a few clone units that are unaccounted for, as I’m sure you know,” Mace said carefully.  “We’re still trying to track down a lot of the ones who were on Kamino when Order 66 happened.”

Obi-Wan nodded.  “Yes, I know,” he replied.  The clones on Kamino scattered very quickly after Order 66.  Tracking them down has proven to be difficult for the Jedi.  Since their chips were not removed, these clones may still pose a threat.

“Lightning Squadron was on Kamino during Order 66,” Mace said finally, voice dry.

Obi-Wan blinked, surprised.  “You never said anything,” he said softly.  “Ponds?”

Mace sighed and nodded.  “He is still unaccounted for, which most likely means his chip is still active,” he murmured.

Obi-Wan remembered Cody completely under the inhibitor chip’s control, trying to shoot him in one of the hangars of the Jedi Temple.  Obi-Wan didn’t see him again after that until after he woke up from his coma and Cody had his chip taken out.  Cody was now off-planet, on a mission to track down some of his missing brothers.

He couldn’t imagine being in Mace’s position, _knowing_ but not knowing.

“So, you want me to look for them?” Obi-Wan asked.

Mace’s features twitched for a brief moment.  “I sent someone out to find them about a month ago.  I’ve lost contact with him about a week after he left,” he explained.  “I would like you and Ahsoka to find him and help him.  I sense that something has happened.”

“Who did you send?”

“Feemor.”

“Feemor,” Obi-Wan echoed, sitting back slightly.  “I never told him that Qui-Gon was here.  I…I _forgot_.”  He barely heard Mace say his name, but he kept talking, swept up in old emotion and mistakes.  “I should have reached out to him _years_ ago, or at least told Qui-Gon to speak to him.  Did he even _know_ that Qui-Gon was here?”

“Obi-Wan,” Mace said, louder this time.  “Stop it.  You cannot fault yourself for Qui-Gon’s mistakes.  He should never have renounced Feemor as his padawan, and he should have contacted him when he arrived in this time.  That is not your fault.”

“But—”

“No,” Mace interrupted.  “Stop it.”

Obi-Wan nodded sullenly, even though part of him wanted to protest.  “About the mission, then,” he said, deftly changing the topic, “where exactly did you send him?”

“The Outer Rim,” Mace answered, “but his trail went cold on Tatooine.  You’ll have to start there and see what you can find out.”

“I’ll let Ahsoka know,” Obi-Wan replied.  “We’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

Mace nodded gratefully and stood up.  “Thank you, Obi-Wan,” he said, before smiling slightly and then walking away.

Alone in the apartment once again, Obi-Wan exhaled and looked up at the ceiling.  “What have I gotten myself into?” he muttered, walking into the kitchen to start making another pot of tea.

* * *

“A mission?” Ahsoka asked, smiling instantly.  Obi-Wan knew that she was itching to leave Coruscant for a while now.  The last time they left Coruscant was to harvest Ahsoka’s second lightsaber’s crystal, just a few weeks after she became Obi-Wan’s padawan.

“Of sorts,” Obi-Wan replied, amusement coloring his voice just slightly.  “Master Windu sent out a Jedi to search for Lightning Squadron a month ago, but his trail went cold.  We’re being sent out to search for him and help him.”

“Where are we going?” she asked eagerly, almost unfazed by the somewhat vague nature of the mission’s details.

“Tatooine,” he answered.

Ahsoka paused almost mid-jump.  “Why would the squadron go to Tatooine?  There’s literally nothing there,” she murmured.  “Anakin always said so, and when we went to Jabba’s palace, it was just sand, sand, and more sand.  I’m pretty sure there’s still some sand in my boots, actually.”

Obi-Wan chuckled.  “Well, you’re not wrong about that,” he said, distantly remembering his first trip to Tatooine in the midst of the Trade Federation’s blockade on Naboo, over a decade ago.  “That’s where Master Feemor’s trail went cold, though.  We’ll have to go there to start, at least.”

She nodded.  “When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

Ahsoka nodded again.  “I have a few things to do before we leave,” she said.  “Is it alright if I…”

“Yes, of course.  I have a few things to do as well,” Obi-Wan replied.  “I’ll see you later.”

She left with a rushed goodbye, and Obi-Wan exhaled and bowed his head slightly, looking down at the ground.

“Master Qui-Gon,” he murmured.  “If you…can hear me, I need your advice.  It’s selfish of me to ask, I know, but…”  He trailed off, jumping slightly in his seat when his commlink started beeping.

He looked down at the message and raised an eyebrow.  “Looks like I’ll have to pack later,” he commented as he walked out the door, closing the door behind him.

* * *

“Master Billaba.”

Depa looked up to see Obi-Wan Kenobi standing at the door of her sickroom, smiling gently.  His Force presence was calm as usual, but there was something else to it, something almost…broken.

“Master Kenobi,” she replied hoarsely.

He walked into the room and sat down at her bedside.  “How are you?” he asked.  “I realize that being away for so long must be jarring.”

Depa nodded slowly, feeling another well of tears form in her eyes.  “Everything’s… _different_ ,” she whispered.  “It’s been seven months, the war is over, Chancellor Palpatine is dead, and the Republic has…changed?”  She didn’t know all of the details.  “And I’ve been hearing whispers about Qui-Gon Jinn, but Obi-Wan…that doesn’t make _sense_.”

Obi-Wan nodded slowly.  “A lot has happened since you were last here,” he said slowly.  “I…Have the Healers told you anything?”

Depa shook her head.  “They’ve been focused on my healing.  My injuries are healed, thankfully, but I feel so…disconnected,” she whispered.  “No one has told me anything about what happened, Obi-Wan.”

For a brief moment, uncertainty flickered across his features.  He paused.

Depa looked at him carefully, trying to see what exactly changed, but it was difficult.  It was so…hidden, under layers of Jedi calm and appearances.  But it was clear to her now.  Something changed with Obi-Wan.

“What happened to you?” she asked softly.

He blinked, then laughed lightly.  “Am I truly that obvious?” he replied, though his discomfort was now more apparent.

Depa raised an eyebrow.  He was trying to change the topic, to divert her attention away from whatever happened to him, but she was smarter than that.

After a moment, Obi-Wan nodded and deflated slightly in his chair.

“On a certain level, I understand what you’re feeling now,” he said finally.  “Not quite to the extent that you are experiencing it, but…waking up to an entirely different world is _strange_ , isn’t it?”

“Now you definitely need to tell me what happened, Obi-Wan,” she replied.

 “It’s a long story,” Obi-Wan said.

Depa shrugged.  “Coincidentally, I have nowhere else that I need to be right now,” she said.

Obi-Wan breathed out a laugh.  “Alright,” he said, and then began to tell her everything.

* * *

 _“Tatooine?”_ Anakin asked, voice colored with surprise.

“Yeah, I know,” she replied.  “I literally just finished cleaning out the sand from my boots from our first trip, and now we’re going back there _again_.”

Ahsoka heard Anakin laugh through the commlink.

 _“I’m so glad I won’t be there, Snips,”_ he said after he finished laughing.  _“Why are you going to Tatooine, though?  It seems a bit far for a mission.”_

“I don’t think it’s an official mission,” she replied.  “Master Windu sent someone out to look for Lightning Squadron, but they lost contact.  He’s sending us to see if we can find the guy he originally sent and help him.”

 _“I see,”_ Anakin replied.  She could distantly hear him fiddling with something…mechanical, though she couldn’t exactly tell what it was.  _“Anyone I know?”_ he asked.

Ahsoka frowned, trying to remember the name Obi-Wan mentioned.  “Um…Master Feemor, I think?” she asked.  “I never met him before.”

Whatever Anakin was fiddling with went silent.  _“There’s something about that name that sounds familiar to me,”_ he said finally, _“but I have no idea.  I don’t think I met him either.”_

Ahsoka shrugged.  “It’s not a big deal.  I’ll look into his records if Obi-Wan doesn’t know him either,” she replied.

_“When are you leaving?”_

“Tomorrow morning,” she answered.  “I’ll try to comm you whenever I can, but I don’t know how good the range is on my commlink.”

 _“No worries, Ahsoka,”_ Anakin replied.  _“I’ll try to meet with you when you come back.”_ There was a louder sound in the background, and then Ahsoka could hear Padmé in the distance, saying something to Anakin.

 _“I’ve gotta go, Snips.  Good luck on your mission,”_ Anakin said.

“Thanks, Master,” she said, smiling slightly.

* * *

Depa’s eyes were wide and teary.  She wiped at them and tried to reach for the Force to release those emotions, but her connection to the Force was currently tenuous.  She took a few calming breaths.

“That’s a lot, Obi-Wan,” she said finally.

He nodded gravely.  “I’m still not completely myself, and it’s likely that I won’t ever be,” he said, then smiled slightly.  “But I’m getting there.  I’m going on my first mission with Ahsoka tomorrow,” he continued.  “It’s not exactly an _official_ mission, but it is a mission, at least.”

Depa smiled and rubbed at her eyes again.  “That’s great, Obi-Wan,” she said.  “What was it like?”

“What?” Obi-Wan asked, confused.

“Dying,” she whispered.

And just like that, Obi-Wan’s face went blank for a moment before he stood up.  “I think I’ve been here for too long; Ahsoka is probably wondering where I went,” he said, completely ignoring her question.  “My apologies, Depa.”

She nodded.  “Will you visit again?” she asked.

“Once Ahsoka and I return, I will," he promised.

Depa nodded again.  “Thank you, Obi-Wan,” she murmured.  He smiled gently before turning around and leaving her alone.

Exhausted, Depa closed her eyes and let herself drift back to sleep.

* * *

“I’m so excited to finally get off Coruscant,” Ahsoka said as she settled into the pilot’s seat.

“Crave excitement, a Jedi does not,” Obi-Wan said, imitating Master Yoda with a half-grin.  Ahsoka immediately laughed; Obi-Wan’s impression of Master Yoda sounded absolutely terrible because of his accent.

“I think we’ve spent a bit too long here, too,” Obi-Wan said in his normal voice.  “It’s going to be a different change of pace for sure.”

Ahsoka nodded and began to set the coordinates for Tatooine.  “Do we know where on Tatooine we’re going?” she asked.

“Apparently Feemor told Master Windu that he was going to Mos Espa to get some information, so we’ll probably start there,” Obi-Wan answered.  He sat placed a bag of supplies in the back of the cockpit and then sat down in the copilot’s seat.

“Mos Espa?  Isn’t that where Anakin’s from?”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.  “You’ve done your research,” he replied.  “Anyways, yes, that’s where Master Qui-Gon found him.  I stayed behind on the ship while Qui-Gon went to Mos Espa.  It’s my first time there, too.”

“Was he a slave?” Ahsoka asked softly.

Obi-Wan nodded.  “It’s difficult for him to talk about that part of his life.  But I’m guessing a lot of what happened stems from that,” he replied.  He looked down at the controls, quickly checking Ahsoka’s coordinates.  “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, Master,” Ahsoka answered, reaching forward for the controls.  She easily guided the ship out of the hangar and up towards the sky.  Once they were clear of Coruscant’s atmosphere, she put the ship into hyperspace and then sat back, satisfied.

Obi-Wan stood moments later and stretched.  “I’m going to meditate for a bit.  Let me know if you need anything,” he said.

Ahsoka nodded and watched him walk out of the cockpit.  She looked at the blue hyperspace lines and smiled again.  _Finally_.

* * *

Depa took a deep breath and looked at the door in front of her.  She was released from the Healers’ a few hours ago, on the condition that she would rest and eat and come back to the Ward for appointments for the rest of the week.

She immediately went back to her quarters, only to discover that they were reassigned to someone else during her absence.  She then went to the quartermaster, who apologized profusely and then told her that her new quarters will be ready in about five hours.

Depa didn’t exactly want to alert too many people of her wakefulness; she was still adjusting, still trying to understand how everything has changed in about seven months.

Finally, she arrived in front of a door that she remembered from years ago.  Her former Master had never moved out of his quarters, even years after she was Knighted.  With a smile, she hit the buzzer.

Moments later, the door swung open, and Mace Windu stared at her, eyes wide.  “Depa?” he breathed.  There was shock and disbelief in his eyes.

Depa smiled, though there were already tears in her eyes, falling down.  “Master,” she whispered.

Mace stared for a long moment before he opened the door wider and allowed her in.  “You…you’re awake?” he asked.

Depa walked in to his quarters and looked around.  It looked _exactly_ the same as it did before.  It was good to see that some things hadn’t changed.  “You haven’t changed at all, Master,” she said finally.

“I know,” Mace replied.  “Has anyone told you what happened?”

She nodded.  “The Healers brought Obi-Wan to me.  I’m guessing they thought it would help me to hear it from someone who understands, at least on some level,” she explained.  “But there’s something else that I wanted to ask you, Master.”

“What is it?” Mace asked.  She followed him to the kitchen and watched as he began making a pot of tea.

“Before I woke up, I felt some presence reaching out to me while I was in the bacta tank.  It was what dragged me out of my coma and brought me back.  It’s the only reason I’m _alive_ now, Master,” she explained.  “I have to know—was it you?”

Mace’s eyebrows furrowed together.  “Depa, I haven’t visited you in the past week.  I have been trying to reach you whenever I did visit, but it never worked,” he said.

“Who was it who reached out to me, then?” she asked.  “It couldn’t have been a Healer, could it?”

“I don’t know, Depa.  It’s best if you ask the Healers,” Mace replied.  “Why are you so curious about this?”

“The Force is telling me that it’s very important,” she answered, and Mace nodded.

He poured the tea into two mugs and gave her one of them.  Depa nodded her thanks and took a tentative sip.  The tea was light and easy on her stomach.  She sighed and sat down on the couch.

“I know you just woke up, Depa, but the Council would like you to come back once you’re ready,” he said.

Depa nodded slowly.  This was a lot for her to take in.  She didn’t know what she was supposed to do, but the Force was clear about one thing: she needed to know who it was that brought her back.

* * *

“Ahsoka and Obi-Wan left for a mission,” Anakin said, picking at his dinner with a fork.  He didn’t know how he felt about this.  A part of him was worried that something was going to go wrong, but that made no sense.  The mission, from what he heard at least, sounded simple enough.

Padmé hummed in response, chewing thoughtfully.  “Did you speak to Obi-Wan before they left?” she asked after swallowing.

Anakin shook his head.  He _wanted_ to, but…what was he supposed to say?  He didn’t quite know where things stood between him and Obi-Wan after their argument a few nights ago.

Padmé sighed.  “I can’t stand to see the two of you like this, Ani,” she said.  “I know this is a difficult situation, but you would both feel a lot better if you actually talk about what happened.”

“I tried, Padmé,” Anakin replied.  “You saw what happened.”

“Keep trying.  You can’t avoid this,” she insisted.

Anakin sighed.  “Well, they’re both gone now.  I guess I’ll talk to him when they get back,” he said.

Padmé nodded.  “Good,” she said, then took another bite of food.  “Where did they go, anyways?”

“Tatooine,” Anakin answered.

She raised an eyebrow.  “Really?” she asked.

Anakin shrugged before taking another bite of his food.  He didn’t know he felt about Obi-Wan and Ahsoka going to Tatooine.  It shouldn’t really matter that much.  Tatooine was only his past, anyways.  He didn’t have anything left there; his mother was dead.  But he couldn’t help but feel like something was going to happen.

And if something did happen on Tatooine, there wouldn’t be much he could do now to stop it from happening.

* * *

Ahsoka landed the ship a few miles outside of Mos Espa.  She could sense the Jedi they were searching for, just barely.  She couldn’t exactly pinpoint where he was, but it was relieving to know that he hadn’t left Tatooine.

“Where do you think he is?” she asked Obi-Wan as they got off the ship.  She was immediately met with the light and heat of two suns shining down on scorching sand.  Ahsoka could feel the dust in the air, the dryness of the desert pressing onto her.

“I’m not completely sure,” Obi-Wan answered, squinting slightly in the direction of Mos Espa.  “Let’s see if we can get any information in Mos Espa.  That’s where Feemor should have gone first.  Perhaps we can follow his footsteps.”

Ahsoka nodded, pulled up the hood of her robe, and followed Obi-Wan towards the city.  She found herself thinking of the last time she was here, on her first mission with Anakin.  It was oddly fitting that her first mission with Obi-Wan would also take her here.

“So,” she said as they trudged through the sand.  “Do you know Master Feemor?” she asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged.  “Not very well,” he said.  “Why?”

She paused.  “Well, if we’re trying to find him, it probably would help if we knew what he looked like,” she said. 

“Don’t worry about that, Ahsoka,” he replied with a light laugh.  “You’ll know in the Force when you encounter another Jedi.”

She nodded.  “That’s true.”

As they walked into Mos Espa, Ahsoka looked around.  She never thought Anakin’s home planet would be like _this_.  Slavery seemed to be prominent, and there was an air of roguishness that she remembered from Jabba’s Palace that translated to Mos Espa as well.

She immediately spotted a dark-haired man with tanned skin staring intently at Obi-Wan, calculating.  It was a little unsettling.  She quickly studied him in the Force, discovering that the man had no malicious intent, but…there was _something_ about him that she couldn’t quite understand.

“Ahsoka?”

She didn’t realize she stopped walking.  “Sorry,” she murmured.  “It’s just…”  She glanced surreptitiously towards the man, who was still staring at them.

“I know,” he answered softly.

As they walked through Mos Espa, Ahsoka realized very quickly that the man was following them.  Obi-Wan continued strolling, keeping up appearances, though he began to take seemingly random turns and pauses, hoping to lose their tracker.

Eventually, they turned into an empty alleyway, and Obi-Wan sighed and turned around to face the man, who stood in the shadows.

“Can I help you?” Obi-Wan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re Jedi,” the man answered as he took a few steps out of the shadows.

Ahsoka blinked then looked down at her lightsabers, barely hidden by her robe.  “So what if we are?” she replied.

“There’s another Jedi here.  He’s been waiting for you,” the man said.

“Where is he?” Obi-Wan asked, eyes narrowed.

“I’ll take you to him,” the man said.  “He’s been helping us, but we need your help now that you’re here.”

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, and he and Ahsoka followed the man out of the alleyway.

* * *

The man led them out of the city towards a smaller settlement a few miles west.  There appeared to be farms of some sort, but Ahsoka could see the marks of destruction, the burnt and destroyed remains of homes and livelihoods.

“What happened?” she asked softly, feeling the pain and loss keenly in the Force.

“There was an attack,” the man replied, pausing to stare at the wreckage with shining eyes.  “We lost a great many things.”

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan said.  “What caused this to happen?”

The man shook his head.  “We must hurry; if they spot us, they may attack again.  I promise we’ll tell you everything once we are safe,” he said.

Obi-Wan nodded, and the three of them began to walk again.

It took half an hour for them to reach a smaller settlement.  Master Feemor was here; she could easily sense him in the Force now.  She didn’t quite understand what he was doing here when he was supposed to be searching for the clones, but she supposed that there was a good explanation.

The man led them into one of the buildings, where another man sat cross-legged, eyes closed.

As soon as they approached the meditating man, his eyes opened.  “Master Kenobi,” the man greeted with a half-smile.  “I should have known Master Windu would send you.  He always did like to meddle, as much he never admitted it.”

Ahsoka frowned; what did he mean by that?

Master Feemor turned towards her.  “And Skywalker’s padawan.  It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Padawan Tano,” he said, nodding at her.

“How do you know who I am, Master?” she asked.  “And I’m Master Kenobi’s padawan now,” she corrected.

Master Feemor smirked and smoothly pulled himself to his feet. 

“I’ve had the pleasure of having more than one Master, Padawan Tano,” he said, “and I can tell you that you never truly _stop_ being someone’s padawan, regardless of what happens.  I’m sure Master Kenobi will tell you the same.”

“Feemor, I—”

“After all,” Feemor continued, raising a brow, “Master Qui-Gon did have quite the impression when he returned, didn’t he?  Was he just like how he was in the past, Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan looked somewhat uncomfortable, and his Force presence seemed to shrink into himself just slightly.  Ahsoka had a feeling that there was something she was missing, something that she didn’t quite understand.

“You knew Master Qui-Gon?” Ahsoka asked finally.

Feemor laughed.  “Of course, Padawan,” he said, then looked directly at Obi-Wan.  “Obi-Wan never told you?  I was Qui-Gon Jinn’s first padawan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are going to be sporadic for a while, but I'll do my best! Please let me know what you think :)


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all things move in a linear fashion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait! Real life is getting quite busy, so I'm afraid there will probably be sporadic updates for a while. I'll do my best, but here's a longer-than-usual chapter to make up for it!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Ahsoka stared at Feemor for a while before he laughed.  “Why am I not surprised, Obi-Wan?” he asked, turning to face his younger brother-padawan.  “You’ve spent all these years avoiding me, after all.”

Obi-Wan didn’t reply.

“Master Jedi,” the man who found them in Mos Espa spoke up, eyes wide and confused.  “The others wanted to speak with you before,” he said.

“Ah, of course,” Feemor said, turning towards the man.  “Mr. Kitster Banai, I’m not sure you’re aware, but this is Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi who trained your friend to Knighthood.  And Ahsoka Tano, your friend’s _former_ padawan, as she likes to call herself.”  He gestured to the other two Jedi with a guileless smile.

Obi-Wan stiffened, but before he could say anything, Banai spoke.

“You trained Ani?” he asked Obi-Wan, eyes wide and eager.  “Is he here?  He always talked about being a Jedi, about seeing as many star systems as he could, you know.  I’m sure he told you.”

Obi-Wan somehow looked even more uncomfortable than before.

“He isn’t here,” Ahsoka answered when Obi-Wan didn’t say anything.  “But yes, he told us.”

“He’s no longer a Jedi,” Obi-Wan said finally, voice slightly strangled.  “I’m sorry.  He did tell me about you, though.  Many times.”

Banai looked stunned, but he nodded slowly.  “Well, Master Feemor, we really must—”

Feemor nodded.  “I’ll just be a minute,” he said to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.  “I promise I’ll explain everything as soon as I return.”

“Okay, Master Feemor,” Ahsoka said.  The older Jedi smiled and nodded at them before exiting the building.

As soon as they were alone, Ahsoka sighed and dropped her pack on the floor.

“If you don’t trust me, Master, then there’s no reason for me to be here,” she said finally.  “You know that I was going to find out about this eventually, right?  Was there any reason at all to keep this from me?”

“I don’t know,” Obi-Wan said after a long pause.

Ahsoka exhaled.  “Part of me sometimes wishes I didn’t fight so hard to get you to be my Master,” she sighed.  “You know you’re infuriating, right?  Anakin said it before, but I never realized.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and reached into the Force, slowly releasing her anger and frustration.  “No, I’m sorry,” she replied.  “That was uncalled for.”

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” Obi-Wan said.

Ahsoka nodded.  “Do you have any other long-lost relatives I need to know about?” she asked, smirking.

Obi-Wan shook his head.  “For the record, Ahsoka, I do trust you,” he said.

Ahsoka smiled.  “I know, Master.”

* * *

“It was an Initiate?” Depa asked, brows raised.  That was definitely not what she was expecting to hear.  She thought it would be Master Windu or Master Yoda or maybe one of the other Council Members.  They were all Jedi that she interacted regularly with, and it would just make sense.

Bant smiled.  “His name is Caleb Dume,” she said, typing a few notes into her datapad.  “He was here for some minor injury, according to the reports.  Right before he left, you began to show signs of waking up.”

“But why?” Depa asked.

Bant shrugged.  “I wasn’t here when it happened.  I’ve only heard about it from the padawan healer who was there at the time,” she answered.  She looked up from her datapad finally and smiled.  “If you’re so curious, you could go to the crèche and meet him.”

“I suppose,” Depa replied.  The thought of going there felt so _right_ all of a sudden.  A part of her itched to go there now, but she knew she had to wait.

“Your test results look pretty good, Master Billaba,” Bant said after some silence.  She turned and put the datapad down on the table next to her.  “If you want, you can start doing some light katas and exercise, but don’t overdo it.”

Depa nodded slowly.  She did feel better.  The shock of waking up from what felt like a normal slumber to an entirely different galaxy was…indescribable, to say the least.  She felt more secure now, a few days later, but she still felt very out of place.

“Thank you, Healer Bant,” Depa said.  “I might take your advice about the Initiate.”

Bant smiled gently.  “I’m glad you’re here, Master Billaba.  My door is always open if you want to talk,” the healer replied.

With a quick smile and goodbye, Depa left, fueled by determination.

* * *

“Now,” Feemor said, eyes sparkling with amusement.  “I’m assuming Master Windu sent you here.”

The three Jedi sat in a smaller room in one of the houses that were not as badly damaged as the others.  Obi-Wan realized very quickly that because of the destruction, the people of this settlement were crowded into the few homes that were still safe, that they were very quickly running out of food and supplies.

Obi-Wan nodded.  “When he didn’t hear from you, he was concerned,” he explained.  He glanced at Ahsoka, who was seated next to him and was nibbling at a ration bar.

“The clones, as far as I’m aware, are still on-planet,” Feemor said.  “When I finally found them, they gave me a lot of resistance.  They seemed to be well-prepared for my arrival.  They destroyed my ship and droid before escaping out somewhere towards the Dune Sea.”

“I see,” Obi-Wan replied, stroking his chin.

“How did you end up here, Master Feemor?” Ahsoka asked.  She finished eating her ration bar, pulled out another one from her pack, and pushed it forcefully into Obi-Wan’s hands with a knowing look.

“These people were attacked,” Feemor answered.  “Their homes were destroyed, and a lot of them were injured.  I’ve been helping them rebuild, but their moisture vaporators are destroyed beyond repair, and they don’t have enough credits to repair or purchase a new one.  They are quickly running out of food and medical supplies as well.”

Ahsoka’s eyes widened.  “Who attacked them?” she asked.  “How do we know they won’t come back?”  Obi-Wan could feel her compassion flooding into the Force.

“It was the Tuskens Raiders,” Feemor said.

Obi-Wan chewed slowly on the ration bar that Ahsoka gave him.  He distantly remembered Anakin talking about the Tusken Raiders.  He knew that Anakin’s mother was killed by the Tuskens not long before the war began.  They were dangerous, from what Anakin told him.

“Did they attack for any reason?” Obi-Wan asked quietly.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out,” Feemor replied.  “I haven’t encountered them myself yet.”

“You want to speak to them?” Ahsoka asked, brows raised.  “Would they even listen?”

“They might,” Obi-Wan replied.  “But they also might not.  We have to be prepared for either happening.”

“ _We_?” Feemor echoed, raising an eyebrow.  “That’s awfully ironic of you to say, Master Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together, thrown off guard by Feemor’s words.  Ahsoka looked slightly uncomfortable, but she remained silent.

Before he could say anything else, the door slid open, revealing Banai with a wild and concerned look in his eyes.  “The Sand People…” he said, before any of the Jedi could ask him anything.  “They’re coming.”

“How long do we have until they get here?” Obi-Wan asked, pulling himself to his feet, half-eaten ration bar in hand.

“Ten minutes at best,” Banai replied.

Feemor smiled, eyes glinting that way Qui-Gon’s did with serious determination.  Obi-Wan was beginning to see a lot of Qui-Gon in Feemor, and he didn’t quite know what to think about that.

“Let’s go,” Feemor said, turning swiftly to walk out the door, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka following him.

* * *

Caleb Dume turned out to be a small human boy with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes that shone like the stars in the night sky.  He was luminous and energetic in the Force, making Depa feel so warm and comfortable just by standing near him.

“I still don’t understand,” he insisted.  “I didn’t do anything when I was at the Healers’, Master Billaba.”

Depa smiled gently.  “You did do something, Caleb,” she replied.  She knelt before him, so that she was at his height.  “You reached out to me and saved me.  No one else has been able to do it.  Not the Healers, not my former Master, and not even Master Yoda.”

Caleb’s eyes widened.  “But I…I don’t understand, Master Billaba,” he said.

They were sitting in one of the smaller rooms in the crèche.  All the other Initiates left for midday meal, leaving Depa and Caleb alone.

“What don’t you understand, Caleb?” she asked gently.

“I wasn’t… _trying_ to do anything, Master,” he replied.  “I just saw you in the bacta tank, and I guess I was curious, but I…the Force was telling me something, but I didn’t know exactly what it was.”

“Regardless of whether your actions were intended or not, you saved me,” Depa said.  “I owe my life to you, Caleb Dume.  Thank you.”

Caleb’s eyes widened.  Depa could feel his shock emptying out into the Force, strong and overwhelming.  “I—” he began, but the sound of Depa’s commlink interrupted him.

Depa sighed and pulled her commlink off her belt, staring at it.  “The Council would like to see me,” she explained.  “My apologies, Caleb.  I’ll try to meet with you again tomorrow, if not later today.”

Caleb nodded dumbly, and croaked, “Goodbye, Master Billaba.”

“Goodbye, Caleb,” she replied, turning around to leave the crèche.

* * *

“Do you see them?” Feemor asked from where he stood behind Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan gazed through his macrobinoculars at the line of Sand People quickly approaching the village.  He nodded and stood before giving the binoculars to Feemor, who moved them to his eyes.

His commlink crackled.  _“Master, what’s the plan?”_ Ahsoka asked.  She stayed at the entrance of the settlement as a guard.  Obi-Wan hoped to turn the Tuskens away, but if it came down to it, Ahsoka would be the villagers’ last line of defense.

“Feemor and I will intercept the Sand People before they arrive,” he replied.  Feemor nodded and put the macrobinoculars back on his belt, face lined with determination.  “We will try to communicate with them,” Obi-Wan continued, “but if that fails, Ahsoka, you must do whatever you can to protect the settlement.  These people’s lives depend on it.”

 _“I know, Master,”_ she replied.  There was a pause for a brief moment, then she said, _“Be careful.”_

Obi-Wan chuckled lightly, despite the fact that he felt tense, as though something was going to happen.  “When am I not?” he asked wryly and turned off the commlink once he heard her laugh.

Obi-Wan squinted into the horizon.  He could now see the Tusken Raiders in the distance without the macrobinoculars.  They were only minutes away.

“This is probably not the best time for me to say this,” Feemor said, pulling the binoculars away from his face.  “But I do wish we had a chance to talk before all of this happened, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan nodded.  “I’m sorry,” he replied.  “I should have contacted you after—after Master Qui-Gon died, the first time.  I know what he did to you, and I didn’t know if you would—”

Feemor shook his head.  “Don’t fault yourself for Qui-Gon’s mistakes.  Xanatos may not have been entirely his fault, just like Anakin wasn’t yours,” Feemor said.

“But—”

“No,” Feemor said, and he finally looked at Obi-Wan, eyes shining.  “What Qui-Gon did to me was his fault.  There is a reason I did not come to him or even to you when he was here,” he continued.

Feemor exhaled and looked away into the horizon again.  “I still don’t know exactly what happened when Qui-Gon was here, but I do know that Anakin’s decisions were his own, not yours,” he said.

“I—”

“Or do you think that what happened to Xanatos was Qui-Gon’s fault?” Feemor asked, raising an eyebrow.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth then closed it.  He paused.  “It’s not the same,” he managed finally.  The Tuskens were nearly upon them now.  He breathed deeply, feeling the Force flow through him.

“Of course it’s not,” Feemor said, “but would Qui-Gon really want you to be struggling in your misery like this?  Would he want you to believe even now, when you’ve spent twelve years living in Xanatos’ shadow and you still told him it was not Qui-Gon’s fault, that Anakin was yours?”

Oh.  Feemor didn’t know that Master Qui-Gon was…a ghost, of sorts.  Obi-Wan would need to tell him, but for now, the Tuskens were just about to approach them.

“Let’s go,” Obi-Wan said, looking ahead at the visible line of Tusken Raiders now approaching them.  “I think they’re about to see us.”

Feemor opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the sound of a blaster.  Immediately he ignited his saber, revealing an emerald blade identical in color to Qui-Gon’s.  Obi-Wan stared for a moment before igniting his own blade and deflecting a few blaster bolts.

They were spotted.

Just as quickly as the blaster bolts arrived, they disappeared.  Obi-Wan can hear the Tuskens shouting, though he didn’t understand what they were saying, as they retreated away from him and Feemor.

Panic quickly bled into the Force.  Obi-Wan frowned as the Tuskens disappeared more quickly than they arrived, fueled by apprehension.

“What happened?” Feemor asked, extinguishing his saber as he picked up the macrobinoculars again.  He peered into them, probably trying to see where the Tuskens were going.

His commlink beeped.  _“Master?”_ Ahsoka’s voice filtered into the air.

Obi-Wan exhaled.  “They left, Ahsoka.  Let the villagers know,” he answered softly.  “Feemor and I are on our way back.”

Ahsoka paused.  Obi-Wan could sense her confusion in the Force, almost as easily as his own.  He knew from what Anakin told him about the Tuskens that they were never the type to retreat.  They might back away and approach their attacks from a different side, but the sheer panic that shot into the Force made it clear enough.  The Tuskens were _scared_.

 _“Okay, Master,”_ Ahsoka replied.

Feemor turned around and began to walk back to the settlement.  Obi-Wan followed, but his thoughts wandered far away.  He stopped suddenly.

“What is it?” Feemor asked, turning around.

“The Tuskens, they attacked us first.  They came here with the intention of harming these villagers,” Obi-Wan said.  At Feemor’s nod, he continued.  “They ran away at the sight of our lightsabers.  The Jedi don’t have much of a presence here; that _shouldn’t_ be happening.”

Feemor frowned.  “You’re right.  Something’s not right,” he answered.  He looked up at the sky, towards the suns.  “We need to get back.  Your Padawan is probably wondering where we are.”

Obi-Wan nodded and they walked quickly back to the settlement.

* * *

“That is quite unusual,” Banai said, frowning.  The three Jedi were crowded into a large room where the injured were being treated.  “I don’t think the Tuskens would just run away like that.  Not at the sight of a lightsaber.”

“That’s what we thought,” Feemor replied.

“Didn’t you hear what happened to that one Tusken village?”

Ahsoka turned around to see an old human man sitting on a cot, right arm in a sling.  His eyes were bright with pain, but they were clear and focused.

 “What do you mean?” Obi-Wan asked, eyes narrowed.

“My brother went up to Anchorhead once for some supplies.  He came by the Western Dune Sea, near the Jundland Wastes.  Stumbled across a Tusken village.  All the Tuskens there were dead,” the man exclaimed, waving around his good arm.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes.  “Are you sure?” she asked.

“They all had limbs missing or holes in their bodies.  They looked like they were killed by a lightsaber,” the man continued with a nod.  “My guess is, they saw your lightsabers and ran off because they recognize that weapon all too well.  They’re afraid of the Jedi.”

“You must be mistaken,” Feemor said, shaking his head.  “It could have been someone else using a stolen lightsaber.”

The man shrugged.  “Maybe,” he said, “but it was definitely a lightsaber that caused all those Tuskens to die, and the lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi, isn’t it?”

Ahsoka frowned.  No Jedi would do such a thing.  Maybe one that fell to the Dark, but not…

“How long ago was this?” Obi-Wan asked suddenly.  There was a strange look in his eyes.  The Force was stirring now, and Ahsoka’s stomach immediately turned into knots.

The man stroked his chin.  “Two years ago, maybe?  Definitely before the war started,” he answered.

Obi-Wan paled.  “Is there a speeder here I can borrow?” he quietly asked Banai, who nodded immediately.

“Master?” Ahsoka asked, immediately concerned.  She followed Obi-Wan, Feemor, and Banai out of the building.  Banai led them to a speeder that sat outside one of the huts.

“I’ll bring it back,” Obi-Wan said before he slid into the driver’s seat.  “Thank you, Kitster.”

Banai nodded shortly.  Feemor slid into the passenger’s seat and Ahsoka jumped in the back.  Obi-Wan immediately began driving without saying another word.

“Where are we going?” she tried to ask, but Obi-Wan was driving so fast that she ended up getting a mouthful of sand instead.  She spat out the sand and coughed a few times, eyes watering.  Feemor kept quiet, though he seemed to be wondering the same thing.

* * *

“You intend to take him as your Padawan?” Master Windu asked.

Depa chuckled.  “Are you really so surprised about that, Master?” she asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“I never thought that you’d take a Padawan this quickly, Depa,” he replied, scrolling through his datapad.  “You only just met him, you know.”

Depa smiled.  “I do know that, Master, but the Force is clear about this,” she said.  “I think you’ll understand when you meet him.  There’s something about Caleb, something that tells me that he is destined for so much.”

Master Windu chuckled lightly as he put his datapad to the side.  “I never told you this, but that’s exactly how I felt when I first visited you in the crèche,” he admitted.  “There were so many shatterpoints surrounding you, Depa.  The Force practically screamed at me to take you as my Padawan.”

Depa raised her eyebrows.  She didn’t expect her Master to say that, but the surprise was definitely not unwelcome.  “I’m glad you did, Master,” she said.  “You were a better Master than I could have hoped for.”

“Don’t rush this decision,” Master Windu replied.  “Meet with Caleb a few more times in different settings, and get to know him well.  You have time to decide if this is truly what you want.”

Despite the fact that Depa _already_ knew, she nodded.  It wouldn’t make sense for her to do this without getting to know Caleb more.  The Force insisted on the partnership, but it was patient.  She will be patient, too.

* * *

Eventually, Obi-Wan stopped driving.  He jumped out of the speeder and raced forward.  Both suns were at the top of the sky, shining down relentlessly.  The heat was now bordering on excruciating.  Ahsoka was luckily a bit more accustomed to extreme weather because of her Togruta biology, but she didn’t know how her human companions were faring, especially Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan came to a sudden stop in front of a sign.  There were strange structures all around him, buried in sand, but the Force wailed in pain and agony.  She shivered.  Whatever happened here was…

“He was right,” Feemor said, looking around.  “Someone killed all the Tuskens here.”

Genocide.  Nausea curled deep in her stomach.

Obi-Wan stood still, eyes wide and face sweaty.  He was breathing heavily.  Ahsoka could sense Feemor’s shock and pain in the Force as keenly as her own, but Obi-Wan was almost drowning from his emotions.

“Master!” she shouted.

Obi-Wan shook violently, then fell to his knees, head bowed.  Ahsoka stumbled to him, feeling the Force scream more and more.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, crouching down next to him.  She could feel Feemor standing right behind her, concerned but unsure of how to act.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan whispered.  His eyes were filled with tears, but not a single one fell.  “It was…Anakin.”

Ahsoka blinked.  She reached out with the Force, trying not to let the remains of murder overwhelm her, instead searching for a familiar presence.  _There._ Anakin’s presence, but it was all twisted by hate and revenge.

Obi-Wan trembled again, face white, and his body curled in on itself.  “We need to get inside,” Ahsoka declared.  “It’s getting too hot.”

Feemor nodded.  “I’ll drive,” he said, then looked at Obi-Wan.  “Obi-Wan, we need to go,” he said.

Obi-Wan nodded, still trembling.  He slowly pulled himself to his feet, but his knees immediately buckled, and he fell onto the sand on his hands and knees with a hoarse gasp.  Feemor kneeled and carefully brought Obi-Wan to his feet again with his support.

“Go start the speeder,” Feemor said to Ahsoka, quickly pulling Obi-Wan’s arm around his shoulders.  Obi-Wan’s face was flushed with sweat.  Ahsoka nodded in response, running towards the speeder.

By the time she started the speeder, Feemor managed to get Obi-Wan to lay down in the back of the speeder.  Feemor sat down in the driver’s seat and Ahsoka sat next to him, glancing back at Obi-Wan.  Obi-Wan was still shaking, not as much as before, but the sight of it caused her heart to sink to her chest.  She didn’t know what to _do_.

Feemor started the engine and immediately took off in the direction they arrived.  “See if you can find a house or farm or something nearby!” he shouted, and Ahsoka nodded.  She looked around as Feemor sped away from the Tusken village.

He drove for just a few minutes before she spotted something on the left.  “There!” she shouted, pointing towards a small hut.  It looked abandoned; the vaporators looked completely destroyed and there were uneven piles of sand surrounding the sides.

Feemor nodded and swerved the speeder sharply towards the hut.  Obi-Wan made a strangled sound, and Ahsoka turned to see him turn slightly green.  Feemor stopped the speeder, and Obi-Wan immediately leaned over the side of the speeder and dry-heaved into the sand.  Ahsoka winced before she jumped out of the speeder and raced to his side.  Feemor was standing next to her, opening the door and carefully pulling Obi-Wan to his feet.

“Almost there,” he said softly.  He was supporting all of Obi-Wan’s weight without complaint.  “Ahsoka, can you clear the entrance of the sand?” Feemor asked.

Ahsoka ran to the entrance and quickly moved the heavy mound of sand to the side with the Force.  She opened the door and walked in to the hut.  Luckily the inside of the hut was cleaner than the outside, but not by much.  There were some dead critters on the ground and a few random piles of sand that probably fell in through the holes in the ceiling.

Ahsoka spotted a cot on the far side of the hut, and quickly cleared a pathway so that Obi-Wan and Feemor can easily make their way.  She then cleared all the sand off the cot and tried to make it as clean as possible.

As soon as she sensed Feemor and Obi-Wan outside, she opened the door with the Force to allow both of them in.  Feemor guided Obi-Wan to the cot and sat him down.  “Do you have water?” Feemor asked.

“I left my pack at the settlement, Master Feemor,” she said, shaking her head.

Feemor nodded then turned to Obi-Wan.  “Get some sleep, Obi-Wan,” he said softly, voice heavy with the Force.  To her surprise, Obi-Wan nodded and his eyes flicked shut.  Feemor stood and adjusted Obi-Wan so that he was lying down.

“How did you _do_ that?” she asked.

“Force suggestion,” Feemor answered.  “A pretty powerful one, too, though Obi-Wan must have been completely exhausted to allow me to do that.”

“Yeah,” she replied.

Feemor looked around the hut.  “Let’s see if there are any supplies we can dig up in here,” he decided.

* * *

Obi-Wan was still asleep.  About an hour has passed since Feemor used the Force suggestion on Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan showed no signs of waking.  He must have been more exhausted than Ahsoka thought, and finding out what Anakin did…

Anakin committed genocide as a Padawan.  Even though Obi-Wan didn’t say exactly how he was initially able to figure out that the Tusken village genocide was Anakin, Ahsoka was quickly able to figure out what happened based on what she knew about Anakin.

Ahsoka knew that Anakin’s mother died at the hands of the Tuskens.  He must have lashed out right after it happened, must have embraced the Dark for those brief moments in the village.

She still considered him her Master and her friend, but he was a murderer.  A killer.

Ahsoka shivered.  She really wished she could speak to Nira right now.  But Nira was on Coruscant, at the Temple, and Ahsoka was on Tatooine.

Feemor looked up from his commlink at her.  He looked a lot more unsettled than she expected.  She still didn’t quite know what to think of him, considering she didn’t even know that Obi-Wan had a brother Padawan until she met Feemor.

Feemor stood and gestured her to follow him.  They walked out of the hut.  The suns were still out, but the heat from before has receded slightly.  She walked into the shadow cast by the hut, determined to stay cool in the heat.

“I don’t want to assume, but I’ve heard things about what happened when Qui-Gon was here,” Feemor began.  He stood in the shadow, too, leaning slightly on the side of the hut.

Of course he did.  Rumors were rumors, and the Force didn’t do anything to stop any Jedi from being curious.

“What do you want to know?” she asked guardedly.  People have asked her things before, but never directly.  Not like this.

“Obi-Wan,” he said.  “He died?”

Ahsoka nodded, thinking back to that moment she walked in to Palpatine’s office with Senator Amidala and Ventress.  The relief she felt at seeing Anakin defeating Palpatine and killing him, the horror she felt at seeing Obi-Wan lying dead on the floor.  The confusion she felt at realizing that Master Qui-Gon was gone.

“Yes,” she answered.  “And then he came back, but…it wasn’t easy for him,” she continued.  She remembered the coma, the uncertain days that followed once he woke up and refused to be her Master.  There were ups and there were downs, even now.  “It still isn’t.  What happened today is related to that.”

“They say it’s because of Skywalker,” Feemor mused.

Ahsoka sighed.  “It is,” she agreed.  “Anakin and Obi-Wan have a complicated relationship.  I can’t really say much more than that.”

Feemor nodded.  “I should have been there,” he said.  “I didn’t…”

“You don’t have to give me excuses, Master Feemor,” Ahsoka said.  “We’ve moved past what happened.”

Feemor fell silent, though his presence in the Force was now miserable.  She wasn’t upset at him really, but for some reason he seemed to be upset at himself.

“That was uncalled for; I’m sorry,” she said after a lengthy pause.

“You don’t need to apologize.  I should have been there, and I wasn’t,” he said bluntly.  “It’s as simple as that.”

Ahsoka sighed and immediately felt Obi-Wan’s side of the bond stir.  “He’s waking up,” she said, turning back towards the hut. 

“We should get back to the settlement before the suns set.  The nights here are freezing, from what I’ve heard,” Feemor said.

Ahsoka nodded in the agreement as they walked into the hut together.

* * *

Talzin sent out two of her sons to bring home a third.  The third one was in agony for thirteen long years and was suffering for even longer for being away from Dathomir.  He was once a puppet of the Sith, used and wasted by the machinations of a madman.  Sidious.

Her son, Maul, has finally returned to Dathomir.

Savage and Feral Opress were both eager to bring their brother back once Talzin told them the truth about Maul’s continued survival.  They found him on Lotho Minor, mind and body destroyed by madness and pain.

Talzin watched the ship land.  Maul’s screams echoed out of the ship, his agony rippling through the air.  She felt his pain almost as keenly as her own.

The ramp lowered, revealing Savage and Feral standing side by side, exhausted but pleased.

Talzin walked over to them.  “Savage, Feral,” she greeted.

They bowed and spoke in unison.  “Mother.”

“Shall we?” Talzin asked, gesturing towards the ship.

As she expected, Maul was a broken shell of his former self.  Feral explained that the former Sith had little memory of his life, only speaking of something or someone called “Kenobi.”

She knew that name and what it represented.

It was a simple task for her to bring Maul out of the ship, entranced by a little of Talzin’s magic.  Maul eventually stumbled out of the ship on six rickety legs, body trembling from pain and starvation.

“Welcome back, Son of Dathomir,” Talzin uttered with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> dun dun DUNNNNN
> 
> (I think a lot of you saw that coming)
> 
> Anyways, like I said, updates are going to be sporadic, especially since my classes start tomorrow (and I can already tell that it's gonna be a busy semester). I'll do my best to update as soon as I can!
> 
> Please let me know what you think; thanks again! :)


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things continue to shift as time presses on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> I'm really sorry this took so long. Real life has been keeping me quite busy, and this chapter was not easy to write!
> 
> But here it is! Enjoy :)

The Force recoiled.

Qui-Gon opened his eyes, shock filtering through his mind at the sight of the black-and-red Zabrak.  Broken, but still _alive_.  He never even thought that the Sith could have survived Naboo; he thought that being cut in half would be enough.

It wasn’t enough.

Darth Maul lived, thirteen years after his supposed death, while Qui-Gon died on that fateful day.  Qui-Gon remained in the Force, separated from corporeality, while Maul lived on, an angry, vengeful existence.

The Force certainly had a sense of humor.

_“Now you know.”_

Qui-Gon turned around to see the Son standing behind him, watching him.  He remembered what the Son said when Qui-Gon saw him last.

“This is what you meant, isn’t it?” Qui-Gon asked.  “When you said that the darkness must rise again?”

The Son nodded gravely.  _“This was a necessity, Jedi,”_ he said.  _“This is Balance.  My father and sister agree with me.”_

“I must…I must _warn_ him,” Qui-Gon replied.  Obi-Wan needed to speak to him, but something…he hasn’t been able to reach him.  It was as though the Force itself rebelled against Qui-Gon manifesting himself in corporeality.

 _“I’m afraid that won’t be allowed,”_ the Son said.

“Allowed?” Qui-Gon asked.  “I wasn’t aware that there were rules to this.”

The Son smirked.  _“You are part of the Force, Jedi.  You cannot interfere with what is destined to happen,”_ he said.  _“You must remain here until the time is right.”_

“Until the time is right?” Qui-Gon repeated.  “What do you mean?”

The Son transformed back into his winged beast form and flew away without answering Qui-Gon’s question.

With a deep sigh, Qui-Gon closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink back into meditation.

* * *

She needed to get off Dathomir _now_.

Ventress knew who Maul was.  She knew that he, like her, was taken from Dathomir at a young age.  Unlike her, Maul was taken by Sidious and was groomed into becoming his apprentice.  Everything that once made Maul Dathomirian was scrubbed away by the mantle of the Sith.

Eventually, Maul was cut in half and was presumed dead by Kenobi’s hands.  This was thirteen years ago.  Dooku took his place not long after that, and Ventress became Dooku’s apprentice after that.

But now, Dooku was dead and Ventress returned to Dathomir.  It made perfect sense that Mother Talzin would want the other missing child of Dathomir to return.  She just never knew that Maul survived in the first place.

She could hear Maul from far away, his pain ripping and burning into the Force.  He cried out for Kenobi.

It wouldn’t take long for Mother Talzin to mend Maul’s mind, and Ventress knew exactly what the Mother intended to happen.

Ventress watched as the Mother lead Maul away from the ship with her magic and the two Nightbrothers followed, stirred by curiosity.  As soon as they were out of view, Ventress slipped into the ship.

She waited until she was sure that no one was watching her or the ship before she turned its engines on and lifted it into the atmosphere.

Dathomir is her home, but now she must do what she can to protect it.  Even if that meant leaving again.  Even if that meant doing something unexpected and drastic.

Ventress would do what had to be done, no matter the cost.

* * *

“Obi-Wan?”

There was an angry, almost primal scream ringing in his ears, but it was already fading away into nothingness.  The only thing that remained was a _something_ , almost a sense of warning and apprehension.

The Force otherwise was still and quiet, unlike the last time he was fully conscious.  Obi-Wan opened his eyes to find himself lying on a cot.  It was dark, but he could feel Feemor’s Force presence sitting next to him.

“Feemor,” he replied.  His voice felt dry and heavy in his throat.  Obi-Wan shivered and curled into himself, just slightly, for warmth.  He remembered Anakin saying that Tatooine’s nights were freezing, but this—this was ridiculous.  He was indoors, but he felt like everything inside of him was scraped out, and all that was left was a shell.

Anakin.

Obi-Wan remembered now, the Tusken genocide screaming out into the Force as they got closer and closer to the camp.  He had his suspicions as soon as he heard about the Tusken camp, but once he arrived with Feemor and Ahsoka, it was clear.

Feemor shifted slightly in his chair.  “I’m sorry,” he said finally.

“For what?” Obi-Wan asked.

“I haven’t been a good brother to you,” Feemor said.  “Regardless of what happened with me and Qui-Gon, that shouldn’t have affected you.”

“That’s not—”

“Even after I heard what happened to you six months ago, I refused to help.  I didn’t know _how_ I could help, Obi-Wan,” Feemor said.  “Instead I agreed to run off here, to find an excuse to not be in the Temple.”

“I’ve done the same thing,” Obi-Wan replied.  “Qui-Gon was here, and you both should have had a chance to reconcile, just like I did.  I forgot, Feemor.”

Feemor shook his head.  “Even if you told me anything, I would have refused to speak to him,” he said.

Obi-Wan deflated slightly.  “He never meant for this to happen,” Obi-Wan replied.

Feemor raised an eyebrow.  “Did Qui-Gon say that or are you just assuming that is something he would have said?” he asked.  “You remember him with more fondness than I do, Obi-Wan.”

“Qui-Gon is the reason the Jedi are alive, that the Republic is alive,” Obi-Wan countered.  He sat up, ignoring the dizziness that came with the movement.  “Yes, he made his mistakes, even when I was his Padawan, but he learned from them.”

“Did he?” Feemor asked, sitting back in his chair.  He raised his hands up slightly.  “I didn’t mean to start an argument, Obi-Wan.  Like I said, I want to be a better brother to you than I have in the past.”

Obi-Wan exhaled.  “I would like to do the same for you, Feemor,” he replied.  “There is something you must know about Qui-Gon.  Something that most Jedi do not know right now.”

“I don’t really want—”

“It’s important, Feemor,” Obi-Wan said before Feemor could say anything else.

“Very well,” Feemor said with a nod.

Obi-Wan paused, trying to come up with the best way to tell Feemor about Qui-Gon.  “A few weeks after Qui-Gon returned to his time,” he began, “Qui-Gon appeared to me as a Force Ghost.”

Feemor stared at him for a long time.  “Obi-Wan…” he said finally, voice slightly strangled.  “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but please don’t take it upon yourself to try to fix my relationship with Qui-Gon.  I’ve been perfectly happy without his influence for over two decades; I don’t need it now.”

“But—”

“Obi-Wan, _please_ ,” Feemor said.  His eyes were wide, almost desperate.

Obi-Wan closed his mouth.  He found himself thinking of what happened with Anakin, how he can’t bring himself to forgive.  Feemor didn’t know how to forgive Qui-Gon, just like Obi-Wan didn’t know how to forgive Anakin.

It seemed like their lineage was broken in more ways than one.

“Very well,” Obi-Wan said with a nod.  “I just wanted you to know that he is still with us, in a way.”

Feemor managed a smile.  “I’m glad that you can communicate with him,” he said, and his voice was sincere.  “I know that it’s important for you.”

Obi-Wan nodded, but the Force felt empty of Qui-Gon.  When Qui-Gon first appeared to him as a Force Ghost, Obi-Wan was able to reach for him for guidance, and Qui-Gon would either appear or just speak to him.  But now, when Obi-Wan tried to reach for him, nothing happened.  It was as though Qui-Gon was just _gone_.

He couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong.

“Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan blinked, realizing that Feemor was probably calling his name for a few seconds.  “Sorry,” he said, then looked around.  “Where is Ahsoka?”

“Sleeping,” Feemor answered.  “It’s just past midnight.”

Well, that explained why it was so dark.  “Why aren’t you sleeping?” Obi-Wan asked.

Feemor smirked.  “I was.  I sensed you waking up, so I woke up about a minute before you did,” he said.  Obi-Wan squinted, realizing that Feemor’s hair was ruffled and he looked slightly bleary-eyed in the dim light.

“Well, I won’t keep you, then,” Obi-Wan said.  “I’m going back to sleep.  We can talk in the morning.”

Feemor nodded, and Obi-Wan closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift.

* * *

Depa watched Caleb as he talked animatedly about his classes.  After Depa visited him a few more times in the crèche, Caleb was more comfortable speaking with her now.  She didn’t bring up his visit to the Healer’s Ward because he seemed mostly confused about what happened.

“So then Master Koth told us that the Council likes to order noodles during really long Council Meetings,” he continued.  “Is it true?”

Depa chuckled.  “That would be telling, wouldn’t it?” she asked.  She paused for a moment and winked.

“It’s _true_?” he gasped.

“Well, meetings do run long sometimes,” Depa said with a bit of a laugh.  “We haven’t done it since the war started, since we’re all so busy now.”

Caleb deflated and nodded.  He tangled his fingers into his robe and looked down into his lap.

“Caleb?” Depa asked, suddenly concerned.

“It must have been so scary, Master Billaba,” he said finally.

“The war?” Depa asked.  “It—it was, Caleb.  But it’s over now.  We can thank the Force for that.”

“ _Is_ it over, though?” Caleb asked softly.

The Force shivered.  “Caleb, the Sith are gone, and the Separatists are in the process of rejoining the Republic.  Things are happening slowly, but the war is over,” she said.  She managed to get a few more details from Master Windu about what happened exactly during the ending days of the war.

Caleb nodded slowly, but he looked mostly unconvinced.

“Why do you feel like it isn’t over, Caleb?” Depa asked softly.

Caleb seemed to fold into himself slightly; he bowed his head and his shoulders slumped, as though there was a heavy weight pressing down on them.  Depa tilted her head, projecting calm into the Force.

“It’s just a feeling,” Caleb said finally.  “As though something is going to happen.  Something _bad_.”

Depa inhaled slowly.  Master Windu saw shatterpoints, she’s seen it happen throughout her time as his Padawan and even after.  It was possible that Caleb was strong in the Unifying Force, or he at least had a tendency to have premonitions.

“If it does, we will do whatever we can when the time comes,” she said finally.  “We must remain vigilant.”

Caleb nodded solemnly before he smiled again.

Depa was so sure she wanted him as her Padawan, but she had to wait just a little bit longer.  It was only a matter of time.

* * *

Obi-Wan was awake, sitting on the bed and nibbling slowly at a ration bar when Ahsoka walked into the room where he was sleeping before.

“I’m glad to see you awake,” she said in greeting.  “How are you doing?”

Obi-Wan shrugged a shoulder before he swallowed down the food that was in his mouth.  “I’m not exactly happy about what we found, but that is something we cannot fix right now,” he said.

Ahsoka sighed.

Anakin _killed_ so many, and now the Tuskens were rising, striking back against innocent people who did nothing wrong.  And they were terrified of any being that held a lightsaber, regardless of whether they were a Jedi or not.

“What do we do about the Tuskens?” she asked.

“Right now, we can’t do anything about the Tuskens,” Obi-Wan replied.  He stood up and put on his cloak, which Ahsoka knew was completely pointless because she knew that he was going to drop it again at some point.

“We can’t do anything?” Ahsoka repeated, tilting her head.

“What we can do is help these people.  We’re going to help them build defenses around the settlement and obtain more supplies.  Then we’ll have to get back to our mission, Ahsoka.  We need to find the missing clones,” Obi-Wan explained.

“Master, even if that works somehow, that won’t stop the Tuskens from attacking another settlement!” Ahsoka exclaimed.

Obi-Wan sighed as he adjusted the sleeves of his cloak.  “I know, but right now, there is not much we can do here since we’re so far outside of the Republic.  And what Anakin did only made matters worse.”

Ahsoka deflated.  Anakin wasn’t even a Jedi anymore, but if the Council were to find out about any of this, she didn’t know what would happen.  “Are we telling the Council about this?” she asked softly.  “About Anakin?”

Obi-Wan didn’t reply for a few moments.  “Ahsoka…” he said, shaking his head.

“Anakin isn’t a Jedi anymore; it probably wouldn’t mean anything to the Council,” she realized.

“He was still my Padawan when he slaughtered those Tuskens,” Obi-Wan replied.  “You know that a Master is responsible for their Padawan’s actions.  Even if he remained a Jedi, if the Council found out—”

“Then don’t tell them!” Ahsoka said.  “You shouldn’t be punished for something _he_ did!”

“Ahsoka—”

“Master, you know how much I care about Anakin, but he was responsible for his own actions, even with the Tuskens,” Ahsoka continued.  “And even with…what happened with Palpatine, that was his decision.  You’re not at fault for that.”

Obi-Wan didn’t reply, except to stop adjusting his cloak.

“We should go.  Feemor is waiting for us,” Obi-Wan murmured, and he turned around, ready to leave.

“No,” Ahsoka said.

Obi-Wan stopped in front of the door, but he didn’t turn around.

“Tell me about what happened in Palpatine’s office,” Ahsoka said.

Obi-Wan seemed to freeze to the spot.  His Force presence was closed off, impossible for Ahsoka to reach.

“You know what happened.”

Obi-Wan’s voice was soft, betraying none of the emotion that she knew he felt.

“Yes, but I haven’t heard it from you.  Anakin told me, Master Qui-Gon told me, but you haven’t said anything.  And I’m willing to bet you haven’t talked about it with anyone,” Ahsoka said.

“Ahsoka, this—”

The door swung open, revealing Feemor, who beamed.  “Good morning!” he crowed, apparently not picking up on any of the tension between Ahsoka and Obi-Wan.  “I hope you both slept well, because we need to get to Mos Eisley before the second sun rises.”

Ahsoka closed her eyes and exhaled, quickly releasing all her tension into the Force.  Feemor must have noticed, because he frowned and looked back and forth at Ahsoka and Obi-Wan.

“Is everything alright?” Feemor asked.  “I didn’t mean to barge in like that; I was just—”

“It’s fine,” Obi-Wan said.  “Let’s go.”  He pushed the door open and left, leaving Ahsoka and Feemor in the room.

“I pushed him too far,” Ahsoka said quietly.  “I think he’s upset with me.”

Feemor smiled gently.  “It’s going to be fine, Ahsoka,” he said.  “Trust me.”

Ahsoka nodded and followed him out of the room, letting Feemor’s words ring in her head.

He was right.  Everything was going to be alright.

Or so she hoped.

* * *

She finally was coming up on Coruscant.  Ventress sighed and leaned back in her chair, feeling her heart thrum rapidly in her chest.  She felt… _nervous_ , though she couldn’t exactly say why.  Was it the fact that she was trying to reach the Jedi?  They weren’t exactly accepting of her, but earlier, Tano shielded her from what the Jedi Council could have done to her.

So much was happening when Ventress was last on Coruscant, with Skywalker and Kenobi and Darth Sidious, and even now she didn’t know exactly where she stood with the Jedi.

Oh, she knew where she stood with Tano, but not with the rest of the Jedi.  She really hoped she didn’t have to talk to any of the other Jedi; she just didn’t trust them, and she didn’t know what they would do if they found out about Maul’s survival.  She suspected that whatever it was, Ventress wouldn’t like it.

“Tano better be there,” she muttered to herself.  She didn’t know if Kenobi was alive.  When she left Coruscant six months ago, Kenobi was in a coma.  For all she knew, Kenobi was still in the coma or dead and Skywalker and Tano were desperate or mourning.

How would the Jedi take Maul’s survival if the one person who stood best against Maul was gone?

Ventress shook her head.  She knew better than to make assumptions.  Her priority was to contact Tano and tell her about Maul’s survival.  Tano would help her, like she did before.  The other Jedi would not help, at least not the way that Ventress wanted.

Ventress grabbed at the controls and guided the ship into Coruscant’s atmosphere.  She landed the ship in a hangar in the lower levels, deciding that it would be too difficult to attempt to land in the Jedi Temple’s hangars without getting attention.

She made her way through the lower levels, staying in the shadows.

Sneaking into the Temple was too easy; once she got in, she made her way towards the residential wing.  She kept her head up and squared her shoulders—she learned very quickly from her brief time in the Jedi Temple that anyone who acted like they belonged in the Temple would have no problem staying in the Temple.

Ventress remembered where Tano’s quarters were; it was just a matter of getting there without arousing any suspicion.  The residential wing wasn’t that crowded, but there were Jedi milling about aimlessly all over the Temple, including the residential wing.

Finally, she reached the apartment and rang the buzzer.

Silence.

Ventress reached out into the Force, trying to determine if anyone was inside.

“They’re on a mission,” came an unfamiliar voice.

Ventress jerked.  She was _better_ than this.  She always knew when someone snuck up on her.  But her shields were down, and she was distracted.  Distracted by Maul’s return and what it might mean, distracted by the fact that Tano _wasn’t there_ , distracted by uncertainty.

Ventress released a breath and turned around.

A Chalactan Jedi stood in front of her with a single eyebrow arched upwards.  “I don’t think we’ve met,” the Jedi said, almost conversationally.  “I’ve been in a coma for the better part of the last year, so you’ll have to forgive me.”

Ventress nodded stiffly.  “Where is Padawan Tano?” she asked gruffly.

“Like I said,” the Jedi said, “they’re on a mission.”

“They?” Ventress asked, confused.  Was she referring to Skywalker and Tano, or...?

The Jedi didn’t reply.  She took a few steps forward, eyebrows furrowed.  “ _Oh_ ,” the woman realized.  “You don’t belong here, do you?  You’re Ventress.  I’ve seen holos of you, before.”

Asajj reached for her saber, but the woman didn’t move.

“Why sneak in here?  You could have asked the Council if you needed to meet with Ahsoka,” she continued, “It would have saved you a lot of trouble.”

“That’s not important.  Where is Tano?” Ventress pressed.

The woman smirked.  “Why?” she asked.

Ventress gritted her teeth.  Were all Jedi this frustrating?  Tano seemed to be one of the few she could stand to have a conversation with for longer than two minutes without wanting to tear her hair out.

“I need her help, okay?” Ventress said finally.

“Well, she’s away on a mission.  If you truly need help with something, you should speak to the Council,” the Jedi replied.

“ _No_ ,” Ventress hissed.  “The Council cannot know anything.  Just tell me where she is, and I’ll be on my way.”

The Jedi laughed.  “The Council _knows_ that you are here, Ventress,” she said.  “Or, at least, a member of it does.”

Of all Jedi to run into, Ventress runs into a Council member.  Of _course_.  She’s always had terrible luck, but this was just unfortunate.

“If I tell you why, will you let me go?  Without telling the Council I was here or anything?” Ventress asked.

The humor sparkling in the Jedi’s eyes turned into complete seriousness.  Ventress could easily sense the Jedi’s honor and righteousness in the Force.

“Of course,” the Jedi said, and Ventress could feel her honesty pouring into the Force.  “We can speak in my quarters.  Come along.”  The Jedi waved at her to follow, and Ventress did, only when the Force hummed in agreement.

This was right.

* * *

“I have contacts in Mos Eisley who might be able to help us,” Banai explained.  “But we have to go meet them in person and explain to them what happened.”

Feemor nodded.  “We’ll need to return to our mission soon.  I’m sorry we can’t provide much more help,” he said softly.

Banai snorted, gently turning the speeder to the left.  “Nonsense, Master Jedi,” he said warmly.  “You’ve done so much for us.”

Feemor smiled before glancing back at the two other occupants of the speeder.  Ahsoka sat directly behind him.  Her shoulders were tense, even as she stared out at the open expanse of sand surrounding them.

Obi-Wan, on the other hand, looked perfectly calm.  He hasn’t spoken since they left the settlement.  Feemor couldn’t tell if that was normal behavior for him; he was initially under the impression that Obi-Wan was quite good at talking, but maybe he was just as good at _not_ talking.

He’d have to ask Ahsoka later about that.

“Is Ani happy?” Banai asked, turning his head slightly towards the back, towards Obi-Wan.  “You—I know you said he’s not a Jedi anymore, but is he happy?”

Obi-Wan looked up, and for a moment, his eyes met Feemor’s.  Feemor couldn’t tell what Obi-Wan was thinking about, but whatever it was, it wasn’t pleasant.  Ahsoka seemed to have come to the same conclusion, but she remained silent.

“He is,” Obi-Wan said finally.  “He is married now, and his wife is pregnant with twins.  They will be born in about a month.”

Ahsoka was watching him with curiosity shining in her eyes, but she remained silent.  There was every chance that she knew things about Skywalker that Obi-Wan didn’t know, but Feemor was sure she didn’t want to ruin the moment by saying anything.

Banai smiled, focusing on the speeder’s controls for a moment.  “I’m glad to hear it,” he replied.  “Of all of us, Ani always dreamed of getting out of here.  Of freedom, you know?”

Feemor glanced back again to see almost a wistful smile on Obi-Wan’s face. 

“Oh, I know,” his brother-padawan said softly.

* * *

_Kenobi._

_Kenobi._

_Kenobi!_

His mind wouldn’t stop whispering to him.  All he knew was that one word.  He didn’t know who or what Kenobi was, but whatever it was, it was important.  He wanted—no, he _needed_ to find out more about this Kenobi.  He needed the _truth_.

“Brother?”

He looked to his right to see a yellow-and-black male Dathomirian just like him watching him with concerned eyes.  He reached out and grabbed at the Dathomirian’s face, clenching his jaw shut.

Instantly, the Dathomirian grabbed at his hand, trying to pull it away.  There was another Dathomirian standing behind the first, eyes wide and bright.

It was at that moment that Maul remembered.

He growled.  “Brother,” he replied, releasing Savage’s face from his grip.  Behind Savage, Feral relaxed his stance slightly, but there was still apprehension and confusion in his eyes.

Maul sat up, rubbing at his aching head.  His legs…

They were metallic.  Cold, strong, _powerful_.  He tested the joints carefully, ignoring the phantom pain the movement brought.  His legs were gone; he shouldn’t be feeling anything at all.

“My…my legs,” Maul whispered, still reeling from the shock.

“They have been restored by Mother Talzin,” Feral explained, taking a few steps forward.

He could feel his brothers’ curiosity in the Force, their confusion about what happened and _how_ Maul survived, but Maul needed to make sure his legs worked.  He took off in a sprint into Dathomir’s reddened fog, and he let out a primal roar, ignoring the shock of his brothers as they stood behind him.

“My hatred kept my spirit intact, even though my body was not,” Maul continued.  He continued talking about everything he lost, about the Force, about all the _years_ that somehow passed while Maul was thrown aside, like an animal.

Feral walked up to him and held open his palm, revealing a lightsaber.

Maul lifted a hand and after a few moments, the lightsaber flew into it.  The Force _sang_ with the rightness of it.  He shivered.

“I was apprentice to the most powerful being in the galaxy once,” Maul said.  “I was destined to become…so much more.  But I was robbed of that destiny by the Jedi.  By Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

“Then you must have your revenge, my brother,” Savage replied.

“Yes,” Maul said, smiling slightly.  “We shall start with revenge.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: all of the dialogue from the very last scene is taken directly from S4E21 of TCW, Brothers.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I'll try to have the next chapter done soon.
> 
> Please please please review! Reviews make me very happy :)

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to reach out to me on tumblr if I'm taking too long with the next chapter! I'm pandora15 on tumblr!


End file.
